


the angel and the kid

by dullahans



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Baby Jack Kline, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29118786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dullahans/pseuds/dullahans
Summary: “Alright, I’ll bite,” Dean says slowly as he walks down the stairs. “What happened to him?”Right then, Jack runs right in front of Cas who, in one quick swoop, picks him up. He kicks his feet and reaches down towards the floor, but Cas stays firm and settles Jack in his arms. He gives Dean a wary look over Jack’s head and says, “It’s a long story.”(Or, Jack gets turned into a two year old and Dean and Cas figure it out.)
Relationships: Castiel & Jack Kline, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Jack Kline & Dean Winchester
Comments: 25
Kudos: 489





	the angel and the kid

**Author's Note:**

> Infinite thanks to my best friend for actually forcing me to write this one because I kept sending her ideas via text and she kept sending me baby clothes in return.
> 
> The title is a play on The Captain and the Kid by Jimmy Buffet.
> 
> Uh, as for when this takes place, it's somewhere after 14x14? There's no Michael, but Jack's soul is still in tact and the rest of the show didn't happen. It's irrelevant for the actual fic, but I suppose that's the time frame I had in my mind.

Dean doesn’t know what to expect when Cas calls in the middle of a routine hunt insisting that they have an emergency at hand, and that Dean should return to the bunker immediately. He barely makes it into the bunker before he freezes on top of the stairs, nearly causing Sam to collide into him.

The scene in front of him is so comedic that he almost thinks Gabriel zapped them into some movie. There’s Cas, with his hair in fifty directions and a scowl on his face, chasing after a toddler with mousy brown hair that’s currently drowning in one of Dean’s t-shirts. It takes Dean a minute, but when the boy smiles, it becomes obvious. Dean exchanges a look with Sam, who just shrugs.

“Alright, I’ll bite,” Dean says slowly as he walks down the stairs. “What happened to him?”

Right then, Jack runs right in front of Cas who, in one quick swoop, picks him up. He kicks his feet and reaches down towards the floor, but Cas stays firm and settles Jack in his arms. He gives Dean a wary look over Jack’s head and says, “It’s a long story.”

The story, it turns out, is a demigod who can apparently mess with time. Dean doesn’t know how someone as powerful as Jack could be affected by magic like that, but Cas explains that it probably has something to do with Jack being half human and therefore can still be affected by the linearity of time, or whatever. If Dean is being really honest, he’s not paying attention; he’s too busy wiggling his finger in front of Jack, and dodging it as soon as Jack reaches for it, which in turn, just makes Jack pout at him.

Jack is truly an adorable toddler, which shouldn’t surprise Dean because Jack, normal Jack, is an adorable teenager, or pseudo teenager, or whatever the hell he is. It’s funny how Jack doesn’t actually look like either of his parents much. Actually the more Dean stares at the bright blue eyes and the quietly reflective way Jack looks at his surroundings, it hits him that while he might not be Cas’s actual son, the resemblance is uncanny. It’s not even that Jack looks like Jimmy Novak’s vessel, but there’s something so intrinsically Cas about him that Dean feels a wave of warmth. 

“Dean, are you listening?”

Dean blinks at Cas and Sam. “Uh - to be honest, the last thing I picked up was something about an Estonian demigod.”

Sam rolls his eyes, probably agitated that Dean didn’t listen to his research, but Cas just looks at him fondly, the corners of his mouth curving up into a small smile; he doesn’t say anything though, and it’s Sam who breaks the silence between them.

“I was saying that there’s a serum that could reverse the effects of the spell,” Sam explains, flipping through one of the lore books. “He hibernates at night, so if we hurry, we can probably catch him before sunset.”

“Well, let’s get to it then,” Dean says, clapping his hands. He’s about to pick Jack up when he realizes that Jack is an actual, full blown, toddler. “Wait, we can’t take him with us.”

Sam narrows his eyes. “Why not?”

Cas stares at him like he’s grown two heads. “Because he’s two, Sam.”

They can’t hunt with a child, which he knows, but he also doesn’t want to leave Jack’s side because Jack is looking up at him with big eyes that might be too big for his face. Before he can consider the merits of his idea, he says, “Alright, Sam can go after the demigod, and Cas and I can watch over Jack.”

Cas blinks. “Do we really need both of us? I think I can manage just fine.”

“Yes, Cas, we do,” Dean says firmly. He’s sure Cas can manage just fine; he read hundreds of books on parenting, after all, but also Dean wants to help, and Jack is _cute_ , and Dean is already stupidly attached to him.

Cas tilts his head and narrows his eyes in confusion before he turns to Sam. He says, “If you don’t mind, Sam.”

Something flickers across Sam’s face and he gives Dean a knowing look and an even more knowing, shit eating grin. His eyes dance with amusement when he says, “Oh, trust me, I absolutely do not mind.” He looks between Cas, Dean, and Jack and grins again. “Let me know if you guys need any help.”

“We will,” Dean says quickly. He almost wants to shove Sam out the bunker to make him get on with it.

Sam gives them one last look before he packs his gear bag and leaves the bunker. Dean waits until the door closes before he picks Jack up and turns to Cas. He flashes a crooked grin and says, “We should go shopping.”

Cas raises a brow, but doesn’t argue.

~

Dean makes a list of everything they need for a two year old. Between the internet and Cas’s old parenting books, he thinks he has everything down. They’ll need a first aid kit, of course, because even though Jack might still have his healing abilities, they can never be too careful. A stroller seems unnecessary because they aren’t going anywhere, but a car seat is absolutely paramount - just in case they have to leave the bunker in a hurry. They already tried Cas holding Jack in his arms while Dean drove, and that wasn’t ideal. Jack definitely needs blankets in case he gets cold; toys, too, and maybe a playpen for when he wants to play, and clothes, lots of clothes.

Jack gets fussy as soon as they set foot in the store. He doesn’t struggle or anything in Cas’s arms, but he pouts and frowns and kicks his feet so that they’re lightly hitting Cas’s stomach. Cas gets restless quickly too; it doesn’t help that every employee they pass by coos at Jack. Cas awkwardly makes pleasantries while Jack keeps sulking, his tiny fists squeezing together into Cas’s trench coat.

“I don’t understand why we’re here,” Cas tells him as he holds Jack down so that Dean can strap him into the shopping cart, narrowly escaping Jack’s kicking feet. Cas eyes him warily. “He’s not going to stay a toddler forever, you know.”

Dean does know, but he also wants to be prepared. “Yeah, but he needs clothes at least. He can’t just stay in my shirt forever. What if he spills something on it?”

“Dean, I can clean his shirt with a blink of an eye,” Cas deadpans.

“Alright, show off,” Dean mutters.

Cas pushes the cart through the clothing aisle, and Dean immediately picks up a pair of pull on joggers and throws them in the cart. There’s a sweatshirt that says _Let’s Roll_ with a monster truck on it, and Dean tosses that into the cart as well. 

“I like this,” Cas says, picking up a onesie with bees on it. Dean wrinkles his nose - it’s a pale yellow; it looks ridiculous, but Cas stares at him with big, hopeful eyes that Dean sighs, and throws it into the cart as well. He’s never been particularly good at saying no to Cas, and Cas really loves bees. This earns him a small, grateful, smile. “Thank you.”

Dean tries pulling on a sweater vest on Jack, and Jack immediately stares at him like he’s lost his mind, which is absolutely fair. 

“Yeah, you’re right, buddy,” Dean tells him. He picks up a navy hoodie instead and shows it to Jack. “How about this?”

Jack immediately perks up, reaching a chubby hand towards the hoodie. “I want!”

“Alright, that’s settled then,” Dean laughs, throwing it into the cart.

He’s about to pick up a pair of khakis when Cas says, “Dean, I think I found the perfect hunting gear for him.”

“Cas, he’s two, he’s not hunting - oh my god -” Dean cuts himself off when he sees the shirt Cas is holding up. It’s a pale blue with a white rabbit and the words _Hunting for Hugs_ across it. Cas’s face splits into a proud grin, and he drops it into the cart without waiting for Dean to respond. Obviously, they’re getting that.

When they pass through the blankets section, there’s some debate on whether the baby blue blanket with cows on it or the pale green one with ducks on it is more Jack’s style, but they decide it’s neither when Jack grabs a baby pink blanket with elephants on it. There’s also a debate on what toys Jack needs; Dean insists that he should get a bunch of hot wheel cars with the little ramps to slide them down, while Cas thinks Jack should get something more mentally stimulating. Once again, Jack wins the debate.

“I think he wants this one,” Cas says from where he’s holding Jack in front of him. Jack is stretching out of Cas’s hands towards a stuffed bear. He manages to reach it and pushes a button, which causes the bear to start talking. Cas blinks at it before staring at Dean. “The toy bear talks, Dean.”

Dean rolls his eyes, but can’t keep the smile off his face. At least, until he spots the price tag. This bear - Marvelous Marvin the Talking Teddy, apparently - costs _fifty dollars_. Dean groans, “Of course, the kid would want something that you need to take a mortgage out for.”

Cas lowers his voice just a fraction. “Dean, we’re not paying for any of this with our own money.”

“Yeah, but it’s expensive,” Dean starts but Cas stares at him firmly, and Jack picks a box off the shelf, and really, Dean never had a chance. He sighs. “Alright, alright. Put it in the cart.”

Dean spots a cowboy hat, and not just any cowboy hat. It’s a _baby_ cowboy hat. It’s flat out the most adorable, sickeningly adorable, thing that Dean has ever seen. He doesn’t even wait for the go ahead from Cas before he picks it off the shelf and drops it on Jack’s head. Jack shakes his head for a moment before the hat dips further down his head till it’s almost covering his eyes, and he lets out a giggle. 

“We’re getting it,” Dean immediately tells Cas because there’s no way they’re walking out of the store without it.

“Of course, Dean,” Cas says, with a low chuckle. 

When Dean looks at him, he sees Cas smiling fondly at Jack, and Dean feels a light flutter in his chest at the sight. Fatherhood is a good look on Cas. It’s remarkable how quickly he fell into the role as soon as Jack was born, never once questioning his place in Jack’s life. There were growing pains, like with all things, but Jack knew what he was doing when he chose Cas, and Cas has never let him down. 

When Cas catches him looking, his tips his head to the side and squints in confusion. Dean shakes his head. “It’s nothing. We should pay and get out of here.”

~

Jack is easily the smallest toddler that Dean has ever seen, which isn’t a heavily researched opinion, but he’s smaller than Sam, which is the metric that Dean uses to measure. He falls asleep quickly on the ride back to the bunker, and when Dean lifts him from the car seat, he nods his head against Dean’s shoulder. Dean feels a rush of affection when Jack rubs his eyes with tiny fists before he drops his head back to Dean’s shoulder. Dean leans down and places a light kiss to the top of Jack’s head.

Dean stays back as Cas shifts through the kitchen. Jack’s breath is warm against his neck, and when Dean looks at him, he sees Jack sucking on his thumb, that might actually be the cutest thing he’s ever seen. He fusses with his phone, trying to take a picture, but when Jack stirs in his arms, he stops moving and lets him settle back down. 

Cas is stirring the soup on the stove with all the concentration in the world, like making dinner is the same as leading armies in heavenly battles. Dean bites the inside of his mouth to keep from smiling too hard. He walks over, careful not to wake Jack up and asks, “Need help?”

“I don’t think I’m good at this,” Cas admits, still staring at the soup with a mix of frustration and anger. He tilts his head to look at Dean. “I did quite enjoy eating when I was human, but cooking - well, I would prefer not to do it.”

Dean laughs and bumps his shoulder against Cas’s until he shifts, so that Dean can stand in front of the soup pot. He hands Jack over, and Cas takes him carefully. Jack stirs and lets out a quiet whine before he drops his head to Cas’s shoulder, drooling slightly. Cas looks between Jack and Dean. “Should we be worried that he’s sleeping this much?”

“Nah, that’s all they do at that age,” Dean says with a wave. “He’ll wake up soon enough. Then he’ll probably eat, play, and then probably fall back asleep again.”

Cas doesn’t look convinced, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he paces the kitchen, humming a tune under his breath. Dean wonders whether Cas can sing and what he would need to do to hear it if he can, but he doesn’t get a chance to think about it too long because the soup starts bubbling on the stove. It’s _fine_ , for canned stuff, and it just needs some salt and black pepper. Dean sprinkles it in, stirring it lightly. He mixes some rice into the tomato soup so that Jack can get some carbs in. It’s infinitely better than the things he fed Sam when Sam was Jack’s age; hell, it’s probably healthier than the things he eats these days.

Jack lets out a loud whine when he wakes up. Dean watches as he swivels his little head around, adjusting to the kitchen lights. He grumbles for a moment before he pokes at Cas’s face. When Cas looks down at him, Jack points at the freezer and says, “Ice cream!”

“You can’t have ice cream, Jack,” Cas says slowly before doing something that Dean would never, in a million years would expect from him. He pitches his voice slightly higher in what could only be described as _baby speak_ and says, “If you promise to eat your dinner, you can have it after.”

Dean just stares at him. When Cas catches him, he shrugs and raises a brow. “What? The books all suggest that you speak to them in a tone they find pleasant.”

“Once he’s back to normal, he’ll never let you live that down,” Dean explains, holding back a laugh. Jack just stares at them both. 

Feeding Jack ends up being a lot easier than they thought it would be. It’s probably more due to the promised ice cream than anything else, but Jack eats his dinner quietly, with Cas feeding him. Dean tries to school down the _want_ he feels creeping through him. Logically, he knows that Jack is his kid; he’s their kid, but it’s different when Jack is an actual, genuine, toddler. Something about it makes Dean scrape back the layers of what Jack might be, what Jack could be, and see Jack for what he is; he’s just a child who has been through entirely too much in the short span of his life. Dean hates thinking about how much of that is at his hands, but seeing Jack like this changes perspective.

When Cas meets his eyes, he tilts his head to the side. He says, “Are you okay?”

“I was just thinking,” Dean admits, nodding towards Jack. “He’s so little.”

Cas’s face softens and he looks between Dean and Jack. “I know.”

~

They realize very quickly after dinner how easily excitable and overly curious that Jack is, which shouldn’t be surprising considering that’s how Jack normally is, but it is _exhausting._ It becomes evident that they need to lock up all their weapons because if it exists somewhere that a toddler can reach, Jack will most certainly get his hands on it. They also set up a playpen for him, which ends up being completely useless, because apparently Jack’s wings haven’t gone anywhere, and he can still fly. 

“How is he still this energetic?” Dean mutters as he drops down to the table and kicks his legs up. Cas sits in the chair across from him. “You would think he would tire himself out by now.”

“Well, he isn’t exactly human,” Cas says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The sugar from the ice cream probably didn’t help.”

Dean checks his phone, hoping that Sam has something for them, but it’s radio silence. He eyes Jack as he toddles around the main room. At some point, he pulls a spellbook off the bottom bookshelf, opening it to a page. Dean feels a twist of anxiety coil inside him, and he exchanges a look with Cas. Realization dawns on both of them when they see Jack lifting one of his hands.

“Your turn,” Cas tells him immediately.

Dean groans, but pushes himself up and rushes over to Jack. He manages to pull the book out of Jack’s hand before he could rip out the page. Jack immediately stares up at him with wide eyes and pouts, and Dean thinks that he’s doing it on purpose because Dean is _weak_. He kneels down, opens his arms for a hug, and laughs when a small body collides with his. Jack buries his face into Dean’s chest, and Dean smiles up at Cas. “I think he likes me.”

“Obviously,” Cas says, casually. Dean tries really hard not to preen at that.

Jack says something that sounds an awful lot like his name, and Dean definitely preens at that.

Cas puts the spellbook back on the shelf - this time it’s much, much higher, and drops down to the floor. He ruffles Jack’s hair. Dean twists so that he’s sitting cross legged on the floor across from Cas, with Jack in his lap. Cas aimlessly reaches over to the talking teddy bear and hands it over to Jack who finally seems content enough to just sit around and play with it. 

“This was what I was expecting when I was preparing for Jack’s birth,” Cas muses. “Though I was still in the infant portion of my online classes. None of them prepared me for what I actually came back to.” 

“So, you mean to tell me that you weren’t expecting a teenager in the place of a newborn?” Dean laughs.

Cas squints at him. “Obviously not, Dean. I was very confused - I thought I’d been gone a lot longer than a few weeks.”

Dean shudders. He doesn’t like to think of those long weeks while Cas was dead. It’s easily the lowest he’s ever been, but Cas doesn’t know that, and Dean isn’t about to open up about that. Instead, Dean says, “It’s probably for the best. Imagine doing all the shit we do with a newborn.”

Cas wrinkles his nose. “No, that would be difficult.”

“Still, this is kind of nice,” Dean says, reaching around Jack to push the talking button on the teddy bear’s stomach, but he quickly moves his hand away when Jack fixes him a look that can only be described as territorial. Dean smiles. “It looks like he’s calmed down, finally.”

“Famous last words,” Cas warns, eyeing Jack warily. Jack just smiles a big, toothy smile at Cas, and Cas immediately softens, the corners of his mouth curving up into a smile. He admits, “This is kind of nice.”

~

Sam calls them after dinner when they’re in the middle of changing Jack into his pajamas. It rings four times before Dean manages to get to his phone; he puts it on speaker and drops the phone to the table.

“Hey, Sam,” Dean says as he watches Cas run after a shirtless Jack. “Tell me you have something.”

“Well, I do have good news,” Sam starts just as Jack manages to narrowly escape Cas which causes Cas to step over his own feet and land on the floor in a loud thud. Dean snickers, but feels a pang of worry when Cas winces. He makes a move to stand, but Cas gets up and dusts himself. Jack, the actual devil’s son, _giggles_. Sam clears his throat over the other end. “Are you guys okay?”

“Yeah, Cas is struggling to get Jack dressed after his bath,” Dean says with a laugh.

Cas shoots him a flat, unimpressed look. “You could help, you know.”

“Nah, I think you got this covered,” Dean says with a wave, but then Cas gives him another look, and this one says _I might not be as strong as I was, but I can and will smite you_ , so Dean sighs. He hands the phone over to Cas and takes the shirt from him. He finds Jack hiding behind a chair. He says, “Hey, buddy.”

Jack just sticks his tongue out and starts running again. Dean lets out another heavy sigh and chases after him; being a nephilim probably lends itself to automatic speed because Dean thinks he’s fit and fast, but he’s nothing compared to Jack, who is all of two years old. If that wasn’t enough, every so often, Jack remembers he can fly, which makes the situation entirely more complicated. 

“Jack, please,” Dean begs - yes, begs a toddler, after he feels the tightness in his knees. Jack finally seems to take pity on him because he walks over and stays still long enough for Dean to pull a shirtover his head. Dean musses Jack’s hair and picks him up. 

“I’m sure we can manage,” Cas says over the phone when Dean walks over. When he spots Dean, he puts the phone back on speaker and says, “Sam is explaining that he found a way to track the demigod down, but it might be too late to try and get him tonight.”

Dean tries and fails to stifle a yawn. He says, “That’s fine. We’ll figure it out in the morning.”

“Rowena is trying to come up with a spell,” Sam explains over the phone. “If it works, we’ll be able to bind him and hopefully convince him to give us the serum to turn Jack back. If we can’t convince him nicely - well, you know.”

“Do what you have to,” Dean tells him. 

There’s a lengthy pause on the other end and Sam’s voice is cautious. “Are you sure you guys can manage tonight?”

“He’s a baby, Sam,” Dean says, rolling his eyes. “It’s not like we’re facing an apocalypse. We fed him, Cas gave him a bath, and now we’ll put him to sleep.”

“No sleep,” Jack says against Dean’s chest.

“Yeah, you don’t have a choice with that, buddy,” Dean says, trying to keep his voice stern, but it inevitably comes off as fond. To Sam, he says, “We’ll be fine.”

“If you’re sure,” Sam says, even if his voice makes it very clear that he doesn’t believe Dean. 

When Sam hangs up, Dean drops Jack to the floor and he immediately runs off to play with his stuffed bear. Cas lets out a heavy sigh from next to him, smiling slightly. When he looks at Dean, his eyes are practically twinkling. He says, “You’re good at this.”

Dean flushes, ignoring the flutter in his chest. He clears his throat. “Yeah, well, I had to raise Sammy.”

“And you did a very good job with that,” Cas tells him, completely seriously. He looks at Dean with such earnest fondness that Dean has to look away. He knows he did a good job with Sam - hell, he probably did more than a good job with Sam, but to hear Cas say it makes his chest constrict. When he looks at Cas, he’s still giving him the same, warm, look. Dean says, “Thank you, Cas. You’re not bad at this yourself.”

Cas hums. “Well, it is a learning curve, but I think I’m getting used to it. I never thought I would be a father.”

“Neither did I,” Dean admits with a frown. He still feels like he’s behind the curve on that one with Jack, at least. He can feel Cas studying him, so he puts on a smile that he knows doesn’t reach his eyes and says, “We should try to put him to sleep.”

~

True to Jack’s words, he doesn’t want to sleep, but they do manage to get him settled on the bed in the spare room. Dean grabs extra pillows and sets them on either side of Jack, so that he won’t roll off the bed. He drops down to the mattress and Cas settles next to him, with Jack in the middle. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep?” Dean asks again, not at all embarrassed that he’s letting a toddler decide for himself. He yawns and tries again. “Please?”

“No!”

Dean exchanges a look with Cas who just shrugs. Cas ruffles Jack’s hair and says, “Do you want to hear a story?”

Jack tilts his head and narrows his eyes in concentration, or as much concentration a two year old can manage and says, “Yes!”

Dean tries rattling his brain for any stories he knows, and finds that he can’t come up with anything. He doesn’t have to though because Cas has him covered.

“Do you want to hear the story of Daniel in the lion’s den?” Cas asks Jack, whose only response is to stare at Cas and blow a spit bubble. Cas laughs. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

He tells Jack about how he’s the angel that saved Daniel, but it wasn’t at Chuck’s orders. Cas tells stories about creation and destruction; he talks about the first mountains forming and the first bacteria coming to life. Dean doesn’t know if Jack is registering anything, or if it’s all going over his head, but Dean can’t look away. Cas isn’t a man of many words, and Dean always wants to ask him about his life before he raised Dean from Hell, but it never felt appropriate. He knows he’s staring at Cas, but he can’t draw his aways away from how the corners of Cas’s eyes turn downwards wistfully.

Cas is so much, always. It sometimes hits Dean suddenly that Cas is this multidimensional wave of celestial intent dressed in a trench coat who lives down the hall from him, and Dean couldn’t be luckier for it. He doesn’t know what he’s done to deserve someone so otherworldly finding it in himself to spend time with Dean, even if it’s temporary.

Dean is bought out of his thoughts by Jack whimpering, his impossibly small mouth opening in a yawn. When Dean looks down at him, he lifts his tiny arms up. Cas laughs, and it’s this blissful, little thing that Dean can think about forever. Cas says, “I think he wants you to carry him.”

Dean grasps him gently around the waist and lifts him up easily, and Jack settles back into his arms, letting out a wet yawn against his shoulders. He stirs a bit, pulling a loose string from Dean’s shirt, but otherwise seems content with Dean lightly bouncing him as he paces the room. It takes about ten minutes, but Dean can feel Jack’s breathing steady; when he looks down, Jack is fast asleep, bringing his thumb unconsciously up to his mouth.

Dean places him down on the bed, making sure the pillows keep him secure. When he looks up, he sees Cas staring at him from the door frame; his eyes soften and his mouth curves up into a ghost of a smile. Dean feels himself flush immediately under the weight of Cas’s gaze.

“What?” Dean rasps out.

Cas shakes his head but doesn’t stop smiling. “He’s very fond of you, you know. I’m grateful that he has you.”

“He didn’t always,” Dean admits. Cas tips his head to the side and squints his eyes. Dean feels Cas trying to study him, and he figures he might as well pull that particular band-aid off. He clears his throat. “When you - uh, well. When Jack was born and you - well, you know. I wasn’t great with him because I was scared, and he wasn’t like anything I expected or understood.” 

Dean looks down at the sleeping boy in the bed, so utterly small that he’s dwarfed by the pillows and feels the shame run through his veins. He feels his throat constrict at the wordless emotions. Cas walks up to them and gently places an arm on Dean’s shoulder, tilting his head towards the door. 

Once they’re in the hallway, Dean exhales sharply. Cas gives him a gentle, encouraging look and Dean nods before he says, “I needed someone to blame, and he was right there.” _I needed someone to latch my anger and grief on because I didn’t know how to live with you gone_ goes entirely unsaid, but he hopes Cas can figure that out.

Cas stays silent for a moment, his eyes scanning over Dean’s face, as if he can see right through him, which he probably can. Quietly, he says, “What happened to me wasn’t Jack’s fault, Dean.”

“I know that,” Dean says quickly because he does, and he did even back then. “I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for it, Cas. You should have seen him - he was terrified of me, and rightfully so. When he got sick, I thought I lost my chance at making it up to him, but well, I’m trying.”

“You are,” Cas confirms earnestly. “I think you’re doing well, and I think you’ll do better eventually. You clearly care very deeply for him, Dean, and it shows in everything you do.”

Dean huffs out a laugh. Cas has this incredible way of talking him down from whatever ledge he’s on at any given time. He doesn’t even know what he could say to thank Cas for it, so he says the only thing he can. “Thank you, Cas.”

~

It turns out that neither of them are all that comfortable walking away from Jack’s room, so they pace the hallway outside the room, occasionally taking turns to go in and check on him. Dean can feel the tiredness seeping through his bones, so he drops down to the floor and pulls his knees up; he drops his head down and closes his eyes. He could sleep right there and it wouldn’t even regret the eventual aches he’ll feel in his lower back, but he doesn’t get a chance to because there’s a loud wail from Jack’s room.

He exchanges a look with Cas before they’re both scrambling into the room. They find Jack sitting up in his bed; when he sees them, he gives them a bleary look, his blue eyes pooling with tears. Dean feels his insides recoil at the sight. 

“Are you okay, Jack?” Cas asks, dropping down to the bed. Jack reaches his arms out and Cas scoops him up into his lap. Dean drops down on the bed beside them. Cas studies Jack’s face and asks, “Did you have a nightmare?”

Jack lets out a low whine and buries his face into Cas’s chest. Dean chuckles, low and soft, and settles down on the bed. He asks, “Would it help if we stay here with you?”

Jack nods, wrinkling his nose slightly. “Pwease?”

Dean laughs. “Of course, buddy.”

Cas lets Jack hold on to his hand as he curls up again . He yawns once more before closing his eyes. It’s not long until he’s sleeping again. Dean feels the heaviness in his eyes, and he desperately tries to stay awake, but he can feel the sleep taking over. He nods his head down, but snaps it up again, but he can feel his eyes dropping immediately.

“Dean, just go to sleep,” Cas murmurs. When Dean looks at him, his own eyes are closed. Without opening them, he says, “We had a long day.”

“Taking care of kids is hard, man,” Dean says, and Cas hums in agreement.

Dean just lets sleep overtake him. 

~

Dean feels, rather than sees, Jack waking up. It starts with a tiny hand poking his face, which he tries to ignore in favor of curling up further down the sheets and eek every second of sleep he can get out of the day; it quickly turns into a heavy weight, climbing over the bottom half of his body, so now he’s forced to open his eyes. He blinks twice and sees Jack roll in between him and Cas, tumbling over both of them in the process.

Dean groans. “Jack, it’s too early.”

“Wake up,” Jack whines.

He sticks his finger out to poke Dean’s nose; Dean gently pushes it away and says, “Cas, get him.”

“Five more minutes,” Cas says, his voice hoarse with sleep, and Dean tries to ignore how _that_ makes him feel. He doesn’t even know why Cas is sleeping in the first place. 

“Wake up!” Jack says again, and this time it’s a demand, or as demanding as a two year old can manage.

Dean sits up and lets out an exasperated sigh. Jack, satisfied at getting one of them up at least, rolls over. He lays on his back and blinks his saucer like, too big for his tiny face, eyes and smiles. Whatever sleepiness Dean was feeling instantly dissipates, and he grabs Jack around the waist to pull him up so that he’s sitting on Dean’s lap. He looks down to see Cas curling up against him, under the covers, his dark hair falling into his face and pillow creases decorating his face. It’s the cutest fucking thing Dean has ever seen.

“Hey,” Dean says, reaching a hand out to poke Cas’s sides. He lets out a low whine, pulling the sheets up higher. Dean laughs. “I thought you didn’t need to sleep.”

“I don’t need it,” Cas confirms, although with the way he’s hogging the sheets, that seems a bit dubious. He grumbles, “But I do enjoy it and I would ideally like to get more of it right now, if you don’t mind.”

“Hmm, I don’t know about that,” Dean says, punctuating his words with another poke to Cas’s side. This time, Cas lifts his head to give him an actual look of despair, before he drops his head back down. “Jack wants us to wake up.”

“He can wait,” Cas grumbles.

Dean looks at Jack, who pouts at him. Dean shakes his head and grins. “I know, buddy. We’ll get him.”

“You will not,” Cas mumbles into his pillow. “Sleeping is one of three human activities that I’ve made my mission to experience more of.”

Curiosity gets the better of Dean and he immediately raises a brow. “What are the other two?”

“Eating and sex,” Cas tells him, swatting his hand away, not opening his eyes. Well, okay then. Cas likes sex. He can work with that, maybe. One day. Dean leans back against the headboard. Cas’s breath immediately steadies again; he’s not asleep, not really, but Dean can tell that he wants to rest a bit longer.

Dean takes in Cas’s form and the softness of his face as he pushes himself further into the pillow. It’s a funny sight, Dean thinks - an actual angel of the lord sleeping like there’s no tomorrow. Dean realizes that if Cas was human - truly, fully, human - he would hate the mornings. Dean thinks about how things would be if the scene in front of him is actually how his life is. It surprises him a little at how much he aches for that. 

He’s brought out of his thoughts as Cas stirs next to him. He blinks up at Dean, trying to wake up, and despite himself, Dean reaches a hand out to cup Cas’s face, and he watches Cas’s eyes flicker between Dean’s hand and Dean’s face and Dean thinks he should maybe drop his hand, but he doesn’t want to. He knows he should say or do something because Cas is staring up at him, expectantly, but when he tries speaking, his throat feels dry and the words don’t come out.

“We should get him fed,” Dean eventually manages when Jack begins to get fussy in his lap. Cas tilts his head to the side and nods.

~

“We want him to grow up strong, Dean,” Cas says as he takes out Sam’s oatmeal and a bottle of honey.

“You do know he’s not actually staying this age, right?” 

“Yes, but -” 

“Okay, fine _._ ”

Dean leans against the counter as Cas shuffles around the kitchen, with Jack in his arms. He pulls out a pot and drops the water and the oats in. Dean watches as Cas hums to himself, stirring the oats lightly. 

“Did you know that a honey bee would have to fly around ninety thousand miles, three times around the globe, to make one pound of honey?” Cas asks. Dean is about to answer that no, he doesn’t know that, because most people wouldn’t know that, but then realizes that Cas is talking to Jack. Without waiting for a response, Cas continues, “It can fly up to fifteen miles an hour, which is much, much slower than you, but still, I suppose it’s still flying.”

Cas turns the stove off before side stepping Dean to reach into one of the cupboards to pull out a bowl. He transfers the oatmeal to the bowl, carefully dodging Jack’s outreached hands. He stirs the honey in and continues, “Fermented honey is the most ancient form of fermented drinks. The Norse consumed so much of it during the first month of marriage that the term honeymoon originated from the practice.”

Dean watches Cas stare at Jack like that’s the most interesting fact he’s ever heard, and Jack for his part blinks back at Cas, babbling something nonsensical. Cas laughs, low and utterly happy, and instantly Dean feels a pull in his heart.

He knows what this is. He’s known for a very long time, but never did he think that the _I love you so much that I want to spend the rest of my life with you_ realization would hit him in the middle of the kitchen while Cas is rambling on about bees to their son. But then again, this is the dream, isn’t it? Every time he pictures himself happy, this is where he always ends up. Sure, Jack isn’t actually two in those dreams, but this is the general idea, and it’s almost his.

Dean doesn’t know what possesses him to take a step closer to Cas, dropping his coffee mug on the counter. He feels time still around him as he moves towards Cas, who blinks up at him, his eyes wide and startled. He moves a hand around Cas’s neck, and he can see Cas’s eyes flicker between his eyes and his lips.

“Dean?”

“Can I -” Dean starts, unsure of his voice. Cas, bless him for knowing him better than he knows himself sometimes, nods slowly.

He pulls Cas towards him by the tie with one hand and tilts his chin up with the other before kissing him. It’s not a proper kiss, just a brush of the lips, because Jack is still settled in Cas’s arms, but Cas lets out a happy sigh against Dean’s mouth, and Dean knows that they’ll have another chance to do this right later. 

~

Sam returns a couple of hours later with a vial of purple fluid. Jack eyes it apprehensively, but he stays relatively calm, while Cas injects him with it. He immediately keels over, and Dean feels a twist of worry in his gut, but then Jack slowly starts aging up. They put him in Dean’s oversized shirt, so at least he has some dignity while he returns to normal. 

After a moment, Jack - their normal, late teenage but still actually two year old, Jack - stares at them. He alternates between looking at his own body and all their faces.

“How are you feeling?” Cas asks hesitantly.

Jack blinks, still staring at his hands. He shakes his head and smiles at them. “That was really weird.”

“No kidding,” Dean says. A part of him really hates that they couldn’t keep him like that a little while longer. “At least you’re back to normal.”

“I’m glad that you and Cas finally ‘figured yourselves out’, as Sam would say,” Jack tells him. Dean immediately balks; he dares to take a look at Cas, who is looking pointedly down at the floor, the tips of his ears turning a light shade of pink. Jack blinks at them. “Did I say something wrong?”

Sam clears his throat. “I think we might need to give them some alone time, Jack.”

~

Sam and Jack are barely down the hallway before Cas walks towards him, eyebrows lifting in quiet satisfaction as turns on him. Dean opens his mouth to say something, but Cas’s hands make their way around the back of his neck, sliding into his hair and pulling him down to connect their lips. Cas’s mouth is warm and sure as it moves against his own, and Dean reaches a hand up and cups his head, his thumbs resting along Cas’s jawline, gently turning Cas’s head to deepen the kiss. He opens his mouth a little, and Dean feels the curve of Cas’s grin when he makes an embarrassingly soft noise at the brush of tongue.

“Fuck, I love you,” Dean sighs against Cas’s mouth.

“How long?” Cas asks, and Dean pulls back to eye him curiously. Cas chuckles softly and mouths at Dean’s jaw. “It’s a simple question, Dean.”

“A very long time,” Dean admits, letting out a gasp as Cas trails his tongue over a particularly sensitive spot on his neck. Despite everything telling him otherwise, Dean asks, “You?”

Cas pulls away to look at him, his eyes bright and happy. “Since the beginning, Dean.”

~

“Hey guys, what are you planning on doing with all the baby stuff?” 

“The next time Cas steals a child, he’ll make sure that they’re a bit younger so we can repurpose them,” Dean tells Sam. 

Cas gives him a look. “I don’t _steal_ children, Dean.”

“Claire, Jack,” Dean lists off with his fingers. 

Cas rolls his eyes, but Dean can tell that he’s amused. He shrugs and says, “I don’t steal them. If I just so happen to stumble on to a situation where I need to be a father figure, well I can’t really say no, can I?”

“No, you can’t,” Dean agrees, reaching over to take Cas’s hand. “We’ll just stumble onto a toddler next time.” 

Cas hums. “Sounds good to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you lads liked that!


End file.
